Purple onesie walk from Middleton to Leeds

29 April 2014

MRF member Sara Searle from Middleton will be painting the town purple this Friday in aid of the Foundation.

Sara will be joined by 60 friends and family members to walk from her home town in Middleton to Leeds city centre in memory of her son, Byron who contracted meningitis at the age of 20 months and sadly passed away on 5 September 2012.

Sara said: “It all happened really quickly. The day before Byron was his normal happy self, bouncing around. When he became lethargic and I noticed spots on his body I took him to the walk-in centre and was told he had chicken pox. Four hours later he had deteriorated so much, I knew it wasn’t chicken pox and called an ambulance. Despite the efforts of the hospital staff, he passed away by the end of the day.”

The walkers will be wearing purple onesies, and raising money for us as our Membership and Support Team have supported the family since Byron’s death. Once in Leeds, the walkers will be holding a collection and distributing awareness materials at the Merrion Shopping centre for all of Friday afternoon.

Sara said: “ I am passionate about raising awareness of the disease as it took Byron so quickly and at such a young age and I hope our Onsie Walk will help to ensure that other parents in the area know how to spot the symptoms.”

To date, Sara has raised over £1,869 for MRF in memory of Byron and hopes to raise even more with this event. To make a donation visit: www.justgiving.com/ByronJames

Chris Head, Chief Executive of MRF, said: “We are extremely grateful to Sara and her friends and family for doing the Onesie Walk and raising money for Meningitis Research Foundation as we rely on voluntary donations to fund our vital work into the prevention, detection and treatment of meningitis and septicaemia. Sadly she knows better than anyone how this disease affects babies and how quickly it strikes. Every penny raised through Sara’s walk and collection at Merrion Shopping Centre will make a huge difference and enable us to continue our work.”